


Never

by Weregirl



Series: Sheith Week Unlimited [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Sheith Week Unlimited 2017, friends - Freeform, mentions of self harm, slight angst, slightly fragile Keith, this didn't go the way I planned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:04:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9537101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weregirl/pseuds/Weregirl
Summary: Shiro and Keith didn’t come together naturally, unlike what most people think. It was actually a slow and meticulous work in progress.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this wen't nowhere near what I had planned. I also took the prompt "Friends" in two different ways.

                Shiro and Keith didn’t come together naturally, unlike what most people think. It was actually a slow and meticulous work in progress.

                It started shortly after Keith had joined the Garrison, it was either that or be tossed out on his ass as he as he started to age out of the system. 16, hot-tempered beyond belief, few social skills, and no family to speak of meant either he was thrown into the workforce as soon as he graduated or went into the military in hopes of a higher education.

                Keith had wondered into the workout room, frustrations running high after yet another day of being bitched at by officers nonstop.

                He had stalked into the room looking for a punching bag or something he could beat the crap out of so he didn’t scream in an instructors face.

                “Hey man, could you help me out?” some guy called.

                Keith spun, scowl on his face. He settled a little when he saw it was just a slightly older boy, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “What?” Keith still snapped a little.

                The other guy looked away. “I’m sorry, but my buddy ditched me and I need a spotter, I was just wondering if you could help me out for a couple reps,” he said, not meeting Keith’s eyes.

                Now that Keith was actually looking at him he thought he recognized him. The guy was broad, though it was fairly clear that the muscle mass was new and still forming. Keith was pretty sure he was just a year ahead of him in classes, but he was considered a ‘golden boy.’ Amazing flight simulations, great combat skills, and a good attitude.

                “If you’re busy it’s fine, I was just hoping,” he trailed off and Keith shook his head.

                “I’ll do it. Sorry, it’s been a long day,” Keith said.

                The guy chuckled. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m Takashi Shirogane, most people just call me Shiro,” he introduced, reaching a hand out to shake.

                Keith blinked at it for half a second before reaching out to grasp it. “Keith,” he said simply.

                Keith did as he was asked, just making sure Shiro didn’t accidently kill himself with the bench press bar. He could still feel anger prickling under his skin, but he wasn’t petty enough to take it out on someone who had nothing to do with it.

                When Shiro finished his set, Keith helping guide the bar back onto the rack, he sat up and gave the younger boy a calculating look.

                “What?” Keith snapped defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

                Shiro smiled kindly. “I’ll spar with you, if you want,” he offered.

                Keith eyed Shiro cautiously, “what do you mean?”

                Shiro’s smile went wider. “You seem agitated, and I have the feeling that beating up a punching bag is just going to leave you with split knuckles. You need to think on your feet and I need to finish my workout, so I’ll spar you,” he explained.

                                Keith was pissed because Shiro was right. Seething, he stalked over the sparing area and yanked on a pair of gloves, hearing Shiro follow with a chuckle.

                They stood across from the other, both calculating their opponent and deciding who would make the first move.

                Keith, emotions shifting under his skin making him twitchy, moved first and felt the day fly away.

                They had two completely different fighting styles, Shiro was calculating and strong, using his size and strength to his advantage. Keith was quick, flying by instinct and using his size and build to dodge and get in behind Shiro’s guard. It ended when Keith made a false step, believing Shiro’s feign to be true, and Shiro used that moment to knock Keith’s feet out from under him.

                Keith landed on his back with a huff, he had lost but he finally felt calm. He opened his eyes to see Shiro holding a hand out to him, forelock stuck to his forehead with sweat and trying to catch his own breath.

                Keith took the hand graciously and got to his feet, trying to control his breathing.

                “Feel better?” Shiro asked, a little breathlessly.

                “Yeah,” Keith sighed. “Thank you.”

                “Not a problem,” Shiro chuckled, patting Keith’s shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”

                Keith stretched his arms out, finally able to think again, as he watched the older boy walk away.

 

_0808_

                It quickly became a habit, at least once a week Shiro and Keith met in the workout to spar. It meant that in general Keith was in a better mood and easier to deal with, or at least wasn’t as quick to lash out. They only changed the arrangement when Keith complained in passing about an assignment he didn’t understand that Shiro offered to help with. After that it wasn’t unusual to find the two together.

                Shiro had thought it was a normal day, that was until Keith didn’t show up in the workout room at their usual time. It wasn’t like Keith to just not turn up for something without saying something. So after ten minutes of waiting, Shiro left to find him.

                Something drew Shiro to the roof, nothing he could really say, just intuition for once. He wasn’t too awfully surprised to find Keith staring across the land at the slowly setting sun. He jumped when he heard the door closed and looked sheepishly at Shiro.

                “I’m sorry, I guess I lost track of time,” Keith apologized looking away from Shiro.

                “It’s fine,” Shiro assured, moving to sit next to the younger boy. “What’s wrong?”

                “What makes you think something’s wrong?” Keith asked, going slightly defensive.

                “Keith,” Shiro started kindly, “you’ve never just disappeared without saying anything. Nor do you ever lose track of time. You don’t have to tell me, just know I’m here for you.”

                Keith looked away sadly and watched the setting sun for long enough that Shiro thought he wasn’t going to answer.

                “Shiro, are we friends?” he asked.

                Shiro looked at him confused. “Yeah, why would you think we weren’t?”

“You know I grew up in an orphanage, right?” Keith asked softly as the last bits of purple and pink faded to black.

                “I did,” Shiro replied, confused at the change of topic but going with it.

                “No,” Keith said shaking his head, “I mean did you know that I was there from the time I was a baby?”

                “No,” Shiro answered, “I didn’t.”

                Keith sighed. “There was another guy who got there when I was a toddler. We were friends kinda. We both had pretty much given up at being adopted when we were twelveish, but we dealt with it in different ways. I became pretty much who I am now, but angrier. He,” Keith trailed off for a moment. He pulled his knees to his chest and breathed like he was trying to hold back tears as he spoke. “Jack took it as a sign that he wasn’t worth anything and started self-harming. I freaked out when I found out,” Keith chuckled humorlessly. “I tried to keep him safe. I hardly ever left his side, but it wasn’t enough. He killed himself two years ago today.” Keith wiped at his eyes harshly. “Sorry, I’m not—“

                Shiro was tired of listening. He wrapped Keith in a hug. “Don’t. Never apologize for having emotions. Don’t apologize for not being over a friend’s death. I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this by yourself,” Shiro whispered. He was slowly seeing that Keith was an incredibly fragile person and this explained a lot of why.

                Keith was shocked for a moment before he relaxed into hug, which just made cry harder. He tried to struggle away, to hide his tears, but Shiro just held him closer and let him cry.

 

_0808_

                The next year they spent the anniversary on the roof again, this time Keith sitting on his boyfriend’s lap. Shiro had taken the day off of training for the Kerberos mission to spend the day with Keith, letting him talk about the adventures Keith had with his lost friend when they were young.

                The year after Shiro was gone and Keith was once again alone on the roof. Silent tears flowing as he remembered his lost friends.

 

_0808_

                It didn’t surprise Shiro to find Keith in the observatory. They didn’t know the exact date, being in space made that kind of thing hard to keep track of, but it felt close to that date.

                “Hey,” Shiro said, voice quiet.

                Keith looked away from the window and smiled, “Hey.”

                Shiro walked behind Keith and wrapped his arms around the red paladin’s waist. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

                Keith tilted his head to look at Shiro better, “For what?”

                “Last year,” Shiro started. “I wasn’t there—“

                Keith spun and grabbed Shiro’s face, making the older man meet his eyes. “Don’t. Not for that. Never apologize for that. You couldn’t have helped it, so don’t apologize,” he said sharply.

                Shiro pulled Keith closer and leaned their foreheads together. “I love you,” he said, voice horse.

                Keith kissed him gently, “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to join me on [Tumblr](weregirl96.tumblr.com)!


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